plagiarize (play-jə-rIz) vb. (17c) To take phrases, sentences, or ideas from someone else's work and use them in one's own work without attribution, as if they were one's own; to use the ideas and expressions of someone else without giving due credit. — plagiarism, n. — plagiarist, n. PLAGIARIZE, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

Article IV(B)(1) of the WCL Honor Code defines plagiarism as including, but not limited to:

a. incorporating into works he or she offers in compliance with such program any passages taken either word for word or in substance from any work of another, unless the student credits the original author’s work by quotation marks and footnotes or other appropriate written explanation;

b. offering in compliance with such program any work prepared by another;

c. offering in compliance with such program the student’s own work substantially included in work submitted in compliance with the requirements of another program at this or any other law school, college, or university, unless prior to such offer the student secures the permission of the professor in charge of the program; or

d. collaborating with another person on work offered in compliance with such program unless the student secures the permission of the professor in charge prior to such collaboration.  A student shall not be deemed to have collaborated with another if, with the instructor’s prior permission, he or she merely discusses with others a matter relevant to the work in question or, also with the instructor’s prior permission, obtains assistance in style, grammar, or proofreading.

There are two main types of plagiarism: word-for-word plagiarism and paraphrasing plagiarism.

The Indiana University School of Education Plagiarism Tutorials and Tests website lists 15 patterns of plagiarism, 3 patterns of non-plagiarism, and examples of each:

Patterns of Plagiarism

Key: wfw=word-for-word plagiarism; para=paraphrasing plagiarism

1. Clueless Quote: wfw because no quotes, no citation, no reference
2. Crafty Cover-up: proper paraphrase but wfw also present
3. Cunning Cover-up: para because no citation, no reference
4. Deceptive Dupe: wfw because no quotes, no citation, but has reference
5. Delinked Dupe: wfw because no reference, even though quotes and citation
6. Devious Dupe: correct quote but wfw also present
7. Dippy Dupe: wfw because quotes missing, even though full citation and reference
8. Disguised Dupe: looks like proper paraphrasing, but actually wfw because no quotes, no locator
9. Double Trouble: both wfw and para, although has reference
10. Linkless Loser: wfw because citation and reference lacking, although has quotes and locator
11. Lost Locator: wfw because missing locator, although has quotes, citation, and reference
12. Placeless Paraphrase: para because no reference, although citation present
13. Severed Cite: para because reference but no citation
14. Shirking Cite: wfw because lacks locator and reference, although quotes and citation present
15. Triple D--Disguised Disconnected Dupe: wfw--looks like proper paraphrasing, but no quotes, no reference, no locator

Patterns of Non-Plagiarism

1. Correct Quote: takes another's words verbatim and acknowledges with quotation marks, full in-text citation with locator, and reference
2. Proper Paraphrase: summarizes another's words and acknowledges with in-text citation and reference
3. Parroted Paraphrase: appears to be paraphrasing, and technically may not be plagiarism, but ... ???

Frick, T., Dagli, C., Barrett, A., Myers, R., Kwon, K., & Tomita, K. (2020) How to recognize plagiarism: Tutorials and tests. Bloomington, IN: Department of Instructional Systems Technology, School of Education, Indiana University. Retrieved from https://plagiarism.iu.edu

The law library subscribes to Turnitin. Please contact Shannon Roddy for more information.

Grammarly provides a free plagiarism checker that searches ProQuest databases and over 16 billion web pages.